Monday, January 6, 2014

Homemade Lasagna

Well everyone this is my 200th blog post! So I thought since its sort of special I should share with you a special recipe. Now I know I already have a lasagna recipe on here but I wrote that when I was very new to food blogging. I never understood a few things 1 being pictures are everything, you want your readers to able to use their senses when they are just looking at your pictures. The second one is the networking part of it. I have met some amazing food bloggers and I have too many " I am not worthy" moments. I have learned so much from them and if you are wanting to start a food blog, find like minded folks, they are full of information, tips and they are a great support. They have been there and maybe they still are right where you are. I encourage you all to start a blog of some kind because it offers you a chance to experience something so unique to our time and gives you a chance to leave something to future generations. How cool is that? Ok so lasagna time, there is nothing not to love about lasagna, melty cheeses, bubbly sauces and I love the crunchy topping that is my personal favorite. Enjoy some lasagna and to 200 more posts God willing!Ingredients:1 pound of ground beef1 pound of sweet Italian sausage1 pound of hot Italian sausage1 gallon of homemade sauce or you can use jarred 1 16 ounce container of ricotta cheese1 whole onion diced1/2 of a large green pepper1/2 of a large red pepper4 garlic cloves minced1 tablespoon of rosemary1 tablespoon of parsley (put aside a pinch or two for ricotta) 1 tablespoon of thyme2 tablespoons of garlic powder (put 1 tablespoon aside for ricotta mixture)2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning (Put 1 tablespoon aside for the ricotta mixture)4 cups or more of shredded Mozzarella cheese 1-2 ounces of freshly grated Parmesan cheesePinch to 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flake depending on how much heat you can handlesalt and pepper to taste1 pound box of oven ready Lasagna noodles or you can cook them that is your choice1 eggs beaten1 large casserole dish1 large sheet of foil to cover the top of the casserole dish1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil2 palm fulls of sugarInstructions:Grab a large soup pot, stock pot, dutch oven whatever you call it these days. Heat the pot over medium heat and throw in the evoo, beef, and sausages. Let them start to get brown and add in onion, peppers and garlic. Let the them all cook together until veggies are soft and meat is browned. Now add in either homemade sauce or jarred sauces. Add in seasonings and sugar and let simmer for about 3 hours with the lid on. Now its time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grab a medium sized mixing bowl and mix up ricotta, Parmesan cheese and remaining seasonings. With a large spoon, spoon in your casserole dish about a cup of sauce then add in the lasagna noodles. On top of the noodles put the ricotta mixture, some sauce and mozzarella and another layer of noodles. Keep layering like this until your casserole dish is full. Cover the top with foil and bake for about 1 hour, haul the casserole out of the oven, take the foil off the top and bake for another half hour, until everything is hot, gooey and bubbly. Why yes I did include a Video for this recipe: Video